Germany’s evacuation flights from Kabul could end today

BERLIN

Germany’s evacuations from Afghanistan are expected to end on Thursday due to terror threat at the Kabul airport, the Bild newspaper reported.

The German military is planning to carry out the last evacuation flights today, but it would not be possible to rescue all Afghan support staff and their family members as many of them cannot reach the airport, according to the daily.

Since the Taliban takeover, Germany has evacuated nearly 5,200 people from Afghanistan, but thousands of more Afghans who worked for the German military, development agencies or other institutions, are still trying to flee the country.

The Taliban have said they would not extend the Aug. 31 deadline for the full withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, including those currently controlling the Kabul airport.

Germany, reports say, has decided to end its evacuation operations earlier than planned after the US warned its allies of a terrorist attack near the airport.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government has been sharply criticized by the public for failing to anticipate Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan, and ignoring repeated earlier warnings to evacuate thousands of Afghan local staff, their family members, as well as women’s rights activists and politicians who have close ties with the country.

The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan after taking Kabul on Aug. 15, forcing the president and other top officials to leave the country. The group is making efforts to form a government it has said would be inclusive.